Mark Ballard

New Orleans area Rep Steve Scalise won the internal GOP majority vote to be the next Speaker of the House. The vote is reported to have been 113 to 99. Republicans have 221 members in the House. He still needs to persuade Jim Jordan backers and win the 217 votes before the full

Lunch is being delivered to the House GOP conclave to elect a speaker of the House. The majority has been debating whether to raise the internal rules threshold for winning from 50% + 1 to near the 217 it would take to win before the full House.

Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, arrives for internal vote that could end with him elected Speaker of the House. He answered a barrage of questions saying it was important for the majority to finish this vote and “get back to work” https://t.co/yV9Pul1cNj

U.S. Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, announces his bid to replace Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House. https://t.co/SVAvYjb4KW

Senate Judiciary Committee on a 16-5 vote recommended full Senate confirm Brandon S. Long to join the federal trial bench in New Orleans. Sen Kennedy, a member of the panel, voted both the Louisiana nominees considered this morning

Jerry Edwards Jr was recommended to full Senate to the federal trial bench in Alexandria, La. on a 16-5 vote by Senate Judiciary committee.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Biden created the confrontation between La. energy jobs and the world’s most endangered whale by using the settlement of a federal lawsuit to circumvent time-consuming regulatory procedures. https://t.co/7FvzRBKRop

Republican congresspersons took their third victory in a row with a 16-6 Wednesday night win in the annual Congressional Baseball Game for Charity. Democratic and Republican congresspersons raised $1.8 million for 44 charities. https://t.co/cP321NKcYo

US Sen Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, said Tuesday he thinks former President Donald Trump has been targeted in the past. But reading the indictment and hearing what Trump has said publicly: "His own words indicate he may have broken the law," Cassidy said.

Baton Rouge lawyer Darrel Papillion cleared the nominations process when the Senate Tuesday confirmed the French-speaking Creole trial lawyer, who grew up in Acadiana, to a lifetime appointment on the U.S. District Court in New Orleans. The full Senate OK'd on a 59 to 31 vote.

“This has been really crazy,” LSU forward LaDazhia Williams said about the hubbub surrounding national champion LSU women’s basketball team triumphal tour of the nation’s capital. The team celebrated Thursday with Congress. White House comes Friday. House. https://t.co/6UFsMeDF1W

National Championship LSU Women’s Basketball team is feted by the US House today. Tomorrow they head to the White House. https://t.co/o2r2lgakjD

Baton Rouge lawyer Darrel J. Papillion cleared an important hurdle Thursday on his way to becoming the newest trial judge on the federal bench in New Orleans. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee him favorably to the full Senate on a vote of 15-6. https://t.co/XfUfbsXps7

A dust-up last week between U.S. Sens Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, and Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, underscores the importance of preserving the process for striking bipartisan deals in an era where lawmakers give greater weight to intransigence. https://t.co/OCUpvRfZPB

The national champion LSU Tigers Women’s Basketball team will visit the White House on Friday, May 26. President Joe Biden will welcome the team in a ceremony honoring their 2022-2023 NCAA Championship season. https://t.co/nUdXgvXrwn

Flood insurance costs more, sometimes a lot more, for many of the 4.7 million buying policies and the U.S. House Oversight wants to know why. FEMA has until May 29 to release records – long sought by Louisiana politicos – detailing how policies are priced. https://t.co/0OlD2plBcr

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